What You Must Know About Acid Reflux

Acid reflux ranks highly on the list of most irritating conditions. Once it starts, you may feel like it will never end. Thousands are affected by acid reflux daily. Use these tips to help relieve your suffering.

Your dinner should occur three hours or more prior to your bedtime. This can help you to process your food and digest it better. If you lay on your back, the acid will come back up through your esophagus. So you should remain active and upright for a couple of hours before you hit the sack at night.

Maintaining a healthy body weight reduces your acid reflux symptoms. When you’re carrying too much fat, the opening located in the lower part of the esophagus will relax. Losing weight can cure it for good.

Quit smoking to help your acid reflux problem. Stomach acid levels increase with nicotine consumption. This makes acid reflux worse. But, you should not quit all at once. Doing this may stress the body, making acid reflux worse. Gradually quit smoking instead.

Refrain from sitting down after you consume a meal. Laying down can cause the acid to move towards your esophagus, causing acid reflux. If you remain upright, your reflux should lessen.

Don’t exercise right after a meal. When you exercise, the abdominal muscles can push food that’s in the stomach up through the esophagus. This can result in acid reflux. Wait at least one to two hours after a meal before exercising.

Prop up your bed. You can lift this up by using bricks or a piece of wood. The head should be raised about six inches or so. When you have your chest and head elevated, stomach acid is less likely to come up when sleeping.

Reduce your alcohol intake if you’re fighting acid reflux. Alcohol is a prime cause of increased stomach acid production. If you must drink, limit intake to a single glass. Experiment to find a liquor or wine that does not aggravate your symptoms.

The pH levels in food are not relative to the alkaline levels it contains. Foods you might think are acidic could be more alkaline after you digest them. If you are afflicted with acid reflux, this might seem counter-intuitive to you. Examine the pH levels of what you are eating if acid reflux is causing you concern.

Were you aware that the acid in food really does not affect the pH balance of the food? Lemons and other foods that appear to be acidic are high in alkaline when digested. This can really confuse you. Know what the pH levels are of the food you eat.

Acid reflux pain should not be taken lightly, so don’t delay in addressing it. It feels awful and can lead to horrible complications when untreated. Now you know how to stop it. Utilize all this knowledge so you can prevent acid reflux from occurring again.